Taking Solace in Family
by theforgetfulalchemist
Summary: Nico agrees to meet Will's family on one condition: he can't tell them they're dating. Rated T for language and implied sex. Reedited and to be continued!
1. Chapter 1

"No," Nico said firmly, sitting heavily on his bunkbed, crossing his legs and frowning at his boyfriend.

"C'mon, Nico, it's just for the weekend."

"No, Will!"

"C'mon, this is important,"

"What's _important_ ," Nico hissed, "Is me not being humiliated,"

"Argh!" Will threw up his hands in frustration, "What is the big deal? I just want you to spend the weekend at my place, get to know my family. You can have a real meal for once, trade Mythomagic cards with my baby brother...it'll be painless, I swear."

"Nothing in my life has been painless," Nico growled.

Will rolled his eyes. "There you go with the whole 'tortured miserable emo kid' crap. Get out of your own ass for one minute and stop acting like a child!"

They glared at each other until their eyes fell, defeated, ashamed, sorry.

"I'm sorry," Nico whispered. "I just...if they found out we...it's still so..."

"Nico, _caro_ ," Nico had taught him that word. He liked it. "I understand. But my family, they know I'm gay. They don't mind who I date and they won't mind who you do. I promise."

Nico flinched at the word "gay". He was still self conscious and nervous about talking about it sometimes.

Everyone at camp knew of course, and most didn't even mention it, didn't mind at all. But all the same he tried to pretend not everyone knew. His close friends, the crew of the Argo, he was okay with them knowing. But the whole camp knowing? It made him jittery to even think about it. Will's family, that he didn't even know? No thanks.

But it was important to Will.

"You're my boyfriend," Will said with a sigh. "I just want to show you off is all. But I won't make you do anything you don't want to. I'm sorry I got angry. You don't have to come."

"No, I'll come," Nico said abruptly.

Will perked up. "Really?"

"Yeah, but can we..." Nico blushed "Can you not tell them we're dating just yet? I'm...not really comfortable with being so open about it yet. I...just want to tell them in my own time."

Will nodded. "Deal,"

They shook hands and Will pulled him into a hug, then a kiss, and soon they were falling onto Nico's bed…

Nico was wearing his best clothes, a black suit his father gave him for his sixteenth birthday. He was twisting his silver skull ring nervously as Will opened the door to a plump woman with Will's shade of blond hair streaked with grey.

"Will!" She hugged her son tightly and turned to Nico.

"And you must be Nico," she wrapped him into a hug too. Nico froze tensely but didn't push her away.

She pulled away looking at them both. "Oh Will's just told me every little thing about you. It's so nice to finally meet you."

"Y-you too, ma'am," Nico said, giving Will a distressed look, mouthing _what things_?

 _Good things_

Mrs. Solace was too busy calling for her husband and younger son to see their silent exchange.

They came, Will's stepfather carrying Will's wriggling five year old half-brother.

"Is that Will and his friend?" Mr. Solace beamed. He set the toddler down and embraced his elder son. He turned to Nico and gave him a firm manly handshake.

"Nice to meet you son. I expect you're starving. Myrna, you have the ham ready?"

"Yes, dear," Mrs. Solace said, "You boys just wait in the living room, I'll be just a tick."

They all sat down on the family's huge sofa.

Will's brother, Eli, took to Nico right away. He toddled onto Nico's lap and squealed in delight when Nico showed him his Mythomagic cards.

He had already given the little boy half his Africanus deck by the time they sat down to a dinner of roasted ham, green beans, potatoes, casserole, and apple pie for later.

"So," Mr. Solace said, taking a bite of potatoes, "I understand you're from Will's camp? Son of…?"

Nico started. Composing himself he cough and said

"Sorry...I...didn't know you knew...about all that...yes, I'm from Camp Half-Blood. I'm the son of Hades."

"Hear that, George?" Mrs. Solace said to her husband a little unnecessarily "One of the big three! There's not many are there? Do you have siblings, Nico?"

Nioc smiled warmly. "Yeah, a little sister. Year younger than me. You'd never guess she's a child of a death god though. She's pure fire."

Will laughed. "No kidding. When she found out we were..."

He caught himself. He was going to say when she found out Will and Nico were dating she threatened Will to take care of he brother or she'd have him thrown in a sack with a weasel.

Will coughed as Nico gave him a warning look.

Will quickly changed the subject.

"Anyway..." Will spluttered, "Nico...er...Nico has been helping me in the infirmary, right, Nico?"

"Right!" Nico said gratefully, "Yeah, I help him bandage...set legs...take care of sword wounds, that kind of thing."

"That's wonderful," Mrs. Solace said. "I bet the camp would fall apart without you two"

Will snorted. "That's for sure. The sheer amount of stupid ways everyone gets hurt on my watch, everyone'd be incapacitated in a day without me,"

Nico laughed, Will's familiar dry humor washing away his nervousness.

"That's for sure. Remember when Percy fell of his cabin roof?"

"Or when Travis burned himself with his lighter?"

"Or when Jason shocked Chris because there was too much static in the air?"

They both laughed doubled up in giggles.

"Okay you two," Mrs. Solace chuckled. "That's enough. Now, who wants dessert?"

Nico wanted to say no thank you but his stomach gurgled and his mouth watered.

He took two slices of pie.

When Will and Nico had done the dishes, splashing each other with so much water they had to mop afterward, they walked outside into the night, ready to go back to camp.

Mrs. Solace gave her son and Nico hugs again, and this time Nico didn't freeze up. He smiled.

"It was so great to meet you all," he said.

Mr. Solace winked and pat him on the back. "Don't be a stranger, alright? Make Will bring you home as often as you want. Eli, you'd like that, wouldn't ya?"

"Yeah!"

"Now, what do you say, when someone gives you something?"

"Uh...thank you!" Eli chirped.

Nico smiled and pat his head. He paused and reached into his jacket. He took out a small figurine. An Apollo, from his classic booster pack.

He handed it to Eli.

"Here. This is your big brother's daddy. He's the god of medicine so he looks after people, just like your brother. This statue will protect you too, okay?"

Eli's eyes widened. "Thanks!"

Nico laughed. Both Will's parents weer smiling at him.

"Thank you Nico." his mother said. "It's great to know Will has someone like you over there."

Nico grinned softly. "It's great to have _him."_

After that, Nico said his goodbyes and strolled out into the night, disappearing into the shadows.

Will turned to follow but his mother, still waving, said

"Will, dear, the next time you bring your boyfriend home, do try not hiding it. He's such a nice boy."

Will looked thunderstruck but gained his composure and laughed heartily.

"Okay," he said choking on laughter, "I won't."

He looked into the cold night, smiling.

"You're right. He is nice. I wish he could see it."

And he walked into the night.

To be continued!

 _A/N: I definitely caught the Soangelo bug! And I love writing "meet the parents" stuff. I based this on an old joke whose punch line is that the mother of a gay boy who had been trying to conceal the fact that his roommate was his boyfriedn knew all along and was cool with it._

 _As always, I hope you liked it, thank you for reading and feel free to comment if you want!_


	2. Chapter 2

"Got you!"

"Yeah, right!"

"Oh, c'mon!"

"Ha!"

"You cheater!"

Nico threw down his controller and sighed as he watched the TV screen where Will's gocart was passing the finish line a hair before his. He got up and took Will's copy of _Mario Kart_ from the console.

"So cheated!" he repeated. Will smiled smugly and nestled comfortably into the couch.

"That's what you get for going against someone who can drive," he said.

Nico rolled his eyes. "For the last time, having your license doesn't make you good at _Mario Kart_."

Will spread his hands. "I'm living proof!"

They both laughed as Will's stepfather came into the room.

"Hey, boys," he said, hefting Eli in his arms. "The squirt and I are off to the store. Mom's orders," he smiled, showing them a very long grocery list. "She's working on dinner and pies for the church potluck so it's up to us men today. You want to come?"

"Okay," Nico said. Ever since he got his appetite back, he loved to go to groceries and smell all the meat and cookies and vegetables and ice cream and pizza. It made him want to eat an entire fridge. It felt good to finally want to eat his fill.

Will rolled his eyes but he clearly didn't want to be left home without Nico to beat at videogames because he got their coats without complaint.

"Your family goes to church?" Nico whispered to Will as they put their jackets on. "I thought they knew about…?"

"Oh, yeah, they do," Will said,"They just go for appearances. This is a small town. People talk. It's the kind of place where not going to church counts against you."

Nico nodded. "I can understand that. Back in Italy, if you didn't show complete support for Mussolini, you were in big trouble."

Will shook his head "I keep forgetting your freaky time thing. Gods, you're weird."

Nico punched them lightly and Will grinned.

At the store it was loud and bright, with what seemed like a hundred people, the loudspeaker blaring music and calls for price checks and cleanups. Nico grabbed a cart.

Mr. Solace took it and secured Eli, forever wiggling, into the top basket.

Will knew everyone at the pharmacy section and he stopped to talk to a young bearded man in a white lab coat while the rest of them went off in search for Mrs. Solace's shopping.

"Read the list for me, Nico?" Mr. Solace asked, handing him the torn notebook paper.

"Okay...uh first's flour,"

"Got it,"

Mr. Solace kept putting things in his cart as Nico called them.

"Eggs"

"Apples"

"Milk"

"Macaroni and cheese"

"Peanut butter"

"You know," Mr. Solace said thoughtfully as he put jam into the cart, simultaneously stopping Eli from putting his favorite treats in, "I love Will very much.

Nico's jaw dropped but he clenched it closed. He had almost said "I love him too".

"Y'know, he doesn't really feel like a stepson to me," Mr. Solace said as he put a head of cabbage in the cart and a large bag of dogfood in bottom.

"He was a year old when his mom and I got married. She made it clear they were a package deal and I was okay with that. I changed his diapers, picked him up from daycare, taught him how to catch a ball...even though I wasn't there when he was born, I feel like his real dad, you know?"

Nico thought of Hazel. She was "only" his half sibling but they were closer than most siblings who lived together since birth.

"I guess what I'm trying to say" Mr. Solace said, ringing up his purchases at the register, "is that I'm glad he has you. I love him and I want him to be happy. You make him happy, Nico."

"And I'm glad I have him,"Nico said. He laughed shortly, almost bitterly, almost sadly, but still a laugh and he smiled. "You know, it's funny…not a year ago I had nobody in the world. Now I have everyone I could ever need."

He blushed slightly. He was never this candid with people he hadn't known long. Hell, he wasn't very candid with the people he _did_ know well.

But Mr. Solace just nodded and grinned.

Will caught up with them and they walked outside. While Mr. Solace took Eli and the groceries to the van, buckling Eli and loading the food, Nico stopped Will by the automatic doors.

He looked around cautiously from side to side then grabbed Will into a kiss. A long one.

Will pulled back punchdrunk and grinning.

"What was that for?"

"For sharing your family with me" Nico said.

Will snorted, still flushed.

"Don't be stupid. I'm not sharing them."

Nico cocked an eyebrow.

"They're your family too,"

a/n; Because Nico deserves all the family he can get! Hope you liked it and thank you for reading! Feel free to comment if you are so inclined!


	3. Chapter 3

"Thank you boys again," Mrs. Solace said, putting on her coat and rifling through her purse.

"Really, he's no trouble, Mom," Will insisted, picking his little brother up and putting him on his lap. "Oof, you're heavy."

"Yeah, Mrs. Solace," Nico nodded. "We got him, don't worry."

When Will's parents drove off to the PTA meeting they were supposed to chair, Eli immediately wriggled free and said "Pizza!"

"Yeah, yeah," Willl sighed, "Pizza..."

He grabbed the phone and ordered a large peperoni pizza.

"Mom gave us pizza money," he explained.

They played videogames until the pizza came. When it did, Eli only ate one slice and went straight to bed.

"Sugar crash," Will said after tucking him in and sitting back on the couch next to Nico, taking a slice of pizza.

They decided to watch _Iron Man_ while they devoured the large pizza.

"This movie is stupid," Will complained.

Nico rolled his eyes. "How is it stupid?"

"Uh, he built a fucking pacemaker in a cave. Not only is that medically impossible, it looks stupid."

Nico rolled his eyes again.

They watched in silence for a while before Nico began to blush. They were alone.

Will gave him a bright eyed look and slowly moved in to kiss him, heavier and more frenzied until he was squashed as close to Nico as possible, pining him to the couch.

"How about we continue this in my room?" Will panted.

"It'll be more courteous to the couch" Nico admitted.

Will heaved off of him and took his hand, pulling him upstairs. When the got to Will's room they were a frantic ball of kisses and legs and arms and moans.

"You sure your parents won't be home soon?" Nico asked uncertainly.

Now it was Will's turn to roll his eyes.

"They never come home early from the PTA. They chose that hill to die on."

He mumbled this as he worked on taking Nico's shirt off and kissing his chest.

Nico closed his eyes and groaned.

"You...you have condoms, right?"

"Gods, Nico, who do you think teaches sex ed at camp?"

"Point," Nico moaned because Will's hand had found its way to his lap.

He didn't complain anymore.

After, they showered (together, ostensibly to save time but really because they just weren't done looking at each other yet) and at ten, when they were dry and their faces weren't flushed anymore, Will's parents returned.

They found them on the couch eating the last of the pizza and watching late night TV.

"Eli in bed, hon?"

"Yeah, mom, I just checked on him," Will said with a mouth stuffed with pizza, not looking away from the screen.

"Did you boys have a good night?"

Nico and Will looked at each other and slowly grinned.

"It was okay."

A/N: Thank you for reading! I hope you liked it! Feel free to comment if you feel like it!


	4. Chapter 4

Nico materialized into Will's kitchen, which was normal by now. His mother was there, cutting onions but she didn't even blink.

"Oh, hello dear!" she said brightly. "Would you like a sandwich?"

"Yes, please, thank you ma'am," Nico smiled.

"I'm afraid you just missed Will. He went off with his father, that is, George, to the hardware store. They're building a treehouse for Eli."

"That's okay," Nico said, taking a seat at the barstool at the counter. "I'll wait if that's alright."

"Of course, dear!" Mrs. Solace said happily, getting the bread and loading on at least three kinds of meat.

Something she had said stirred Nico somehow. Will's father...Apollo.

"How did you meet Will's father?" Nicoblurted. "Apollo, I mean."

Mrs. Solace's face drooped somewhat.

"I'm sorry!" Nico said quickly.

"No...that's perfectly fine, dear." She said, putting the sandwich together and sliding it over to him.

She wiped her hands and sat down next to Nico.

"I was twenty six," she began "I was in graduate school. In the classics program."

"Really? So did you always know about…?" he waved his hands around himsef vaguely.

She laughed. "Not until I was pregnant. No, I just loved classical Greece back then. My focus was on ancient Greek poetry."

"Like Homer?"

"And Sapho and Archilichus..." she said dreamily like she was recalling her favorite poems.

"Anyway, I was in my first year of grad school when I met him. He had heard me recite poetry and he fell in love," she sighed like she was remembering something happy and painful at the same time.

"He wanted me to read to him all the time. He was in love with my voice and I was in love with his love of all the classic poets. I remember thinking he had the richest voice I'd ever heard. He used to recite Homer for me you see. Trying to impress me," she smiled fondly.

"I remember thinking...mind you this was before I knew the truth...that it was more than human."

"When did you find out?" Nico asked "Right after that?"

She snorted. "Try at the end of my first trimester. We had been seeing each other for a few months when I told him I was pregnant. He became anxious and distant. At first I thought he just wasn't expecting to be a father. I thought he just wanted out of the responsibility. We fought. He left. I didn't see him again until I was pretty far along. I started yelling at him, calling him a deadbeat and all of that...and he finally told me the truth. That he was a god. That all the poetry and songs and stories I studied as myth were actual fact. That my son was a demigod. Well..."

she picked up his plate as he finessed his sandwich and smiled "As you can imagine, I was in shock. But there wasn't much I could do. I had to think about the baby first. I knew enough Greek myth to know gods don't stay on as stay at home fathers. And sure enough he came to check up on me before the baby was born and he saw his son when he was delivered but after that, I never saw him again." Her eyes became glassed over, like she was reliving the scene again: her lover come to meet their baby son.

"He came to give Will a gift. He often does for his children, you know. Quite vain, Apollo. Wants his children to excel and honor him and all that. But with Will he just said 'this boy has all the gifts he needs. He has your gift. Your voice heals my heart whenever I hear it. He will grow up to heal too. He will be an excellent physician, like my son Aesculapius before him'."

"And well, after that, there's not much else to say. I took some time off school to have the baby. Met George on campus right after I came back. We got married when Will was a year old. We had Eli. After Eli was born, and the monsters starting coming for Will, George found out about the camp. And here we are."

She spread her hands to encompass their whole house.

'What about you, Nico? How did your mother meet Hades?"

Nioc shrugged. "My mother was from Venice. It's a favorite haunt of Dad's so he eventually ran into her. Mom loved ghosts stories and stuff like that, so she caught Hades' interest. They had my older sister, stayed together long enough to have me, I suppose, then we were off to America and we didn't see him for a long time after that."

"You never told me you had an older sister," Mrs. Solace said in surprise.

"Oh, yeah..." Nico's face fell. "Her name was Bianca. She...died when I was pretty young."

"Oh, I'm so sorry. How…?"

Nico smiled bitterly. "The camp found us. I was too young to go on a quest. She wasn't. I stayed safe at camp and she left and...died."

He was close to tears now. Remembering Bianca was like turning into a ghost; it wasted him away, leaving nothing but dispair in its wake.

But remembering Hazel was like coming back to life. The gods had been kinder to him than he had ever expected. They gave him a second chance. A new sister, a new life, to replace the one he lost.

And Will. Beautiful, perfect Will, who needed no other gifts. If thinking about Hazel made him feel alive, thinking about Will made him feel exactly the way Apollo said he would: like his heart was being mended from the inside out.

Mrs. Solace gave him a big hug and he melted into it. Physical comfort was a new luxury for him and he was getting more ued to it. He didn't flinch and seize up as much as he did before.

"I guess..." he managed, resting his chin on her shoulder "There's not much else to tell either. There was the Titian war. I met Hazel and then there was the Giant's war. Apollo was right by the way," he said proudly "Will did become a great healer. He's the best medic at camp."

Mrs. Solace beamed, pride shining on her face as well.

They heard the front door open and Will walked in holding a large paper bag full of wood planks.

"Hi, mom, he grunted, setting the bag down heavily. He brightened when he saw Nico "Hey, Nico!"

Nioc smiled and waved.

"Oh, I better go help your father..." Mrs. Solace said, rushing past Will to the van.

When she had gone, Nico walked firmly up to Willa nd hugged him hard.

"What's gotten into you?" Will laughed.

"Who knows, maybe you healed my heart," Nico mumbled into his chest, smirking sarcastically.

"What? What the hell's that supposed to mean? You're such a freak," Will chuckled.

Nico punched his chest playfully.

"Whatever, Mr. Gray's Anatomy. Let's go help your mom."

And they walked out of the kitchen, hand in hand.

 _A/n: Nico going from a broken, confused, sad little boy to a functional and happy young man was a beautiful process to watch. I love how he goes from having noone in the world to having so many people who love him. I think that's one of the main messages of the books: that you're never alone and that even outsiders have a place._

 _Than you for reading and I hope you liked it! Feel free to review if you want!_


	5. Chapter 5

"Uh, what the hell is this?"

Nico was lounging on Will's bed. They were alone in Apollo cabin, Nico lazing about, Will polishing arrow heads next to him.

Nico produced a pink sheet of paper and held it away from him like it was diseased.

FORSTER HIGH JUNIOR-SENIOR PROM

COME ENJOY A BLAST FROM THE PAST WITH OUR RETRO EITHIES -THEMED BONANZA!

Guest date form

Name of Forster student: William Solace

Grade of Forster student: Junior

Name of guest: Nico DiAngelo

School guest attends: homeschool

Grade of guest student: n/a

"Shit..." Will muttered, scratching his neck bashfully. "I didn't want you to see until..."

He heaved a huge sigh.

"I thought it would be... _nice_ if we went together. I'm a junior now, and they let you take a guest..."

Nico nearly choked.

"Are you joking? And have your whole school know?"

"Noone will care, Nico," Will snapped. "Noone who matters anyway. Besides, I've been out for a while."

"But I haven't!"

Nico glared so fiercely Will looked away and mumbled

"I'm...I'm sorry."

Nico huffed, the fight out of him, and he fell heavily onto his bed, covering his eyes.

"How long?"

"How long, what?"

"How long have you been out?" Nico asked, his hand still across his face.

"Oh, since I was thirteen...at camp, anyway. My school is...less progressive. I've only been out a year there."

"Oh, that definitely makes me want to go to their prom with a guy," Nico growled.

Will huffed. "It wouldn't be that bad, other gay guys have done it and they were fine. Its not all bad. Sure, I get bullied sometimes…"

Nico's eyes shot open "They bully you?" his expression was murderous.

He unconsciously took an arrow and twisted it in his hands.

"Sometimes..."

"Do they beat you?"

"Gods, no! Okay...maybe once or twice..." Will conceded in murmur.

The arrow in Nico's hand snapped.

"I'll kill them," Nico spat.

"You're not killing anyone," Will said.. "Look it's not that bad, most people are cool, it happens, man, calm down..."

Nico took a deep breath "I'm sorry. It's just...you don't deserve that."

"Noone does," Will said gently "But I'm telling you, it's not that bad. I have a few friends in GSA that'll hang with us, keep the assholes away. So...will you go to prom with me?"

Nico blinked then grinned slowly "Aren't you supposed to give me flowers?"

"Cut the shit, DiAngelo."

Nico grinned wider. "All right, I'll go with you."

Will sighed in relief. "Good. Believe it or not, this was less destructive than I bargained for. I thought you'd be summoning up all the zombies by now."

"Oh shut up Solace."

And they laughed, the snapped arrow forgotten.

"But on one condition?"

"What?"

"You're parents can't know."

"...Deal."

Later that week Will was sitting at his kitchen table, eating a bowl of cereal. Under the bowl was the pink guest form.

"Oh, is that the form for Nico to be your date?" Mrs. Solace asked, passing her son on her way out.

"Yeah, only you can't tell Nioc you know about it." He had already told his parents about wanting to take Nico to prom before he promised not to tell and he didn't know what to do about it.

'What? Why ever not?"

"He...doesn't know you know we're a thing," Will mumbled.

"What? But you'll tell him won't you?"

'I dunno..."

"Will!" she said sternly "Its not very good for relationships to keep things from each other."

"I know! I know! It's just he's...really uncomfortable about being out...he wanted you to find out about us on his own time but you knew and I didn't know how to tell him."

"Well, you'll have to. How do you expect to go to prom together without it being obvious we know he's your date, anyway?"

Will winced.

"Yeah...about that...he only agreed to come if I pretend I don't have a date...he wants you to drop me off and he'll meet me at the front of the school."

"Will!"

"I know!" he said again "I just...don't know how to tell him…"

"How's this...I'll play along, but on one condition...you tell him we know. I know you don't want to upset him but lying to him to him is worse. Better he find out from you than have him find out on his own. If you're not honest, he'll feel betrayed, and you don't want to betray him, I know it sweetie."

She kissed him on the cheek.

"Okay, Mom...I will." he said slowly. "I will. Don't worry."

It was prom night and Will's father pulled up to the brightly lit school. It was already dark but the building was light and warm and inviting, the sound of old rock music and laughter coming from the gym.

"Have a great time with Nico, sweetie," Mrs. Solace said fondly.

"This is one of the reasons you being gay is perfect," Mr. Solace said "I don't have to worry someone's going to end up pregnant."

He ruffled his sons hair and Will laughed, the nervousness about what he had to tell Nico evaporated for a second.

"Have a wonderful time, son," Mr. Solace said warmly, lightly pushing Will out the van.

He made his way to the front steps, self conscious in his black suit with a large blue corsage on his lapel. He always wore simple, almost disposable clothes since he worked in the infirmary where clothes were ruined by blood or vomit or worse daily. So he wasn't used o such fancy clothing.

Nico was waiting in the front just as he said he would.

He stood and beamed as Will came up to him and placed a matching corsage on Nico's matching black suit, and kissed him.

"Hey," Nico breathed.

"Hey."

Will took his hand and they walked into the school.

The gym was jam packed with gaudily dressed girls and boys. Most were dancing already but some were at the bleachers drinking from what looked suspiciously like flasks.

They could already hear moans from the back of the building. They blushed, sure of what was going on there.

A boy with an actual silver sequenced suit squeezed his way over to them. Will smiled.

"Hi, Ty!"

"Hey, Will-boy!" the boy exclaimed drunkenly. "This your boyfriend?"

"Yeah, this is Nico. Nico, this is Tyler Bates. Friend of mine."

Nico nodded stiffly. The boy grinned.

"Cool! Good to meet ya, bro!"

Nico blinked, nonplussed. "You...too..."

"Oops, there's Kate. KATE!" Tyler called loudly. "Damn, Reginald is moving in on her. She's _my_ date, godamnit! Gotta go!" he rushed toward the punch bowl.

Will sighed. "You want some punch?"

"Sure," Nico smiled. He seemed to be relaxing.

Will left and came back with two red plastic cups filled with red liquid.

"Don't worry, it's not alcoholic." he said, handing one to Nico.

They drank in comfortable silence.

The song suddenly changed to one Will liked and his eyes lit up.

"C'mon!"

He draged Nico onto the dancefloor.

Will began a sort of fast jitterbug and Nico stumbled to keep up. They were soon both laughing and falling all over each other

"Will, baby!" a girl's voice called. Two blond girls and a boy with a shaved head except a purple streak down the middle and an earring approached them.

"Hey, guys!" Will said brightly.

"Nico, this is Casey, Erica, and Milo from GSA."

"You never told me your boy was so handsome, Will" the boy, Milo, grinned.

"Watch it, Mi, he's mine," Will laughed.

"So Nico, Will tells me you're homeschooled?" One of the girls asked.

"Oh...yeah..."

Nico hoped they wouldn't ask about it. The last school he went to had been a military academy. He supposed he should take control of the conversation, and infuse a little truth so they wouldn't suspect.

"Actually," he said, "I was in military school for a long time before that."

"The other girl gasped. "What did you do?"

"Case!" Milo chastised her. "Be nice!"

"It's okay...I didn't do anything actually…my sister and I...our mother had just died and our father...couldn't take us, so he sent us to military school."

"Oh, that's so awful!" The girls cried.

"Bet the uniforms were gorgeous, though," Milo smirked.

"I told you to stop hitting on my boyfriend!" Will laughed.

Nico laughed too. They were all laughing and it felt great.

Nico and Will danced again, a slow dance. They even snuck a few kisses.

They heard a few whispers of "fagot" but the ignored them. Until a big guy who looked like a gorilla in a suit came over.

"Reginald," Will said stiffly.

"Is that your boyfriend?" the other boy sneered.

"Yes," Will said defiantly.

"Where'd you find this fruity little fag-"

Will's punch connected hard on Reginald's jaw. Nico yelled "Will!"

as Reginald slammed a fist straight at Will's left eye.

Then Milo was running toward them, trying to hold Reginald back, and there was sharp whistle.

A bulky man with a Forster football shirt and baseball cap ran up to them. He was obviously a coach. He reminded Nico of Hedge.

"He hit me, coach!" Reginald wined.

"You think I'm stupid?" the coach grumbled "You bated him. You're outta here. With me, now!" he grabbed his beefy arm and pulled him away "And Solace, for god's sake put something on that eye."

Nioc, Will and Milo laughed as Milo went to get an icepack.

As if to make the night perfect, Will was named Prom king along with a tall blond girl Nico felt must be on the cheerleading squad who was chosen as Prom queen.

As the party wound down, Nico and Will found themselves on the front stoop again, sipping the dregs of their punch. Will was nursing his black eye.

"Want to avail ourselves of the party out back?" Will asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

Nioc blushed. "Yeah, right. I hardly let myself come here with a boy. I'm not about to get caught having sex with one behind a high school building."

They laughed and their laugh melted into fold looks.

Suddenly, Will looked away.

Noc frowned. "What is it?"

Will said nothing.

"Will?" Nico sounded startled. He took Will's arm. "What is is?"

"What this is," Will muttered. "Is me holding up my end of the bargain."

He looked Nico in the eyes.

"My parents know. About us."

Nico's face contorted into disbelief, then hardened into a mask of anger.

He stood up, knocking the punch over. He strode furiously away.

"Wait!" Will called, "I didn't..."

But he had already disappeared into the night.

A/n: The plot thickens! By the way about chapter 3: GAY GUYS USE CONDOMS GUYS. I merely point this out in response to the (somewhat impolite) comment implying otherwise. They do! Just clearing that up so there's no impression I'm a clueless idiot with no experience and who never payed attention in sex ed lol, which that comment seemed to suggest. Just wanted to clear that up!

As always, I hope you liked it and thank you for reading! Thank you for faving/following/reviewing! And if you are liking this story, don't worry: Nico knowing doesn't eman I'm even close to done with this fic!


	6. Chapter 6

Will knocked on the cabin door tentatively.

"Come in," called a sullen voice.

He opened the door to solid darkness, Nico only visible by the light of his sword.

After prom he had seemed to regress to the old Nico...hard and cold, closed. It disturbed Will.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," Nico said grudgingly.

"Nico..."

"You lied to me!"

"I didn't..." Will flinched and bit back the rest of his sentence. Because he had.

Will sighed and sat next to Nico. Nico scooted away.

"I didn't tell them," Will said quietly.

"Oh, you didn't tell them!" Nico spat "That explains why they've known this whole time, doesn't it!"

"I didn't!" Will shouted angrily.

"Then who did?" Nico shouted back.

"Noone, okay?" Will yelled. "They found out on their own. As soon as I brought you over."

He wrung his hair bitterly. "I just didn't know how to tell you. So I didn't."

"Which brings us back to how you lied to me," Nico spat.

"Maybe I lied because you make it so hard to tell the truth!" Will yelled. "Your so fucking closed off so convinced everyone's out to get you, you never let me or any damn one else in!"

Nico went silent.

"There was a gay man on my street in Italy," he said finally. "The police found him with his lover and do you know what they did? The cops beat him to death, Will. That's the kind of world I come from. That's why I have to be so fucking blank, because in the back of my mind I know I can become a hate crime statistic just walking out the fucking door."

"It's not like that anymore."

"Mathew Shepard." Nico countered. He sighed. "The reason I'm so secretive is because I'm scared, Will. Every damn day."

"I understand," Will said, "But you're safe at my home. For always. I promise. Look..." he took Nico's hand and he didn't complain.

"I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to feel uncomfortable. But Mom said lying was worse…"

Nico snorted. "That's for sure. If you had just been honest before...gods, Will, its so hard for me to trust as it is."

"Then let's make a pact," Will said suddenly. "No secrets, ever, unless absolutely necessary. Will you trust me then?"

Nico regarded him. "Yes."

Will sighed in relief. "Forgiven?"

"Forgiven, _caro_ ," Nico whispered, "forgiven."

He kissed him and Will sighed into it.

"Can I test the pact?" Nico asked.

"Of course."

"Do I need a haircut? Be honest."

A/N: Forgive and forget. Next chapter: haircuts! In the immortal words of Tom Siddel, "Thank you for reading this chapter about haircuts" lol

to guest: This is because when you have intercourse from *ahem* behind, you are still susceptible to STDs

Thank you for reading and all the favs/follows/reviews!


	7. Chapter 7

"Guys...I don't know if I want to do this..." Nico said uncertainly.

"You wanted me to be honest," Will smirked, firmly turning Nico toward the small building.

Nico looked at the sign that read BARBER SHOP like it read HELL.

"A deal's a deal," Casey piped up behind Will.

"Yeah, you look like you've needed a haircut since '05," Erika chuckled.

Milo nodded approvingly. "Ask for a Mohawk like mine," he advised. "It's way less maintenance than a full head of hair."

"Mi, we don't want him looking like he belongs on a Skrillex CD," Erika sighed.

Nico thought Milo's hair was cool, but he didn't say anything.

Will's friends walked into the shop. Nico held Will back.

"Why did you have to bring them?" he hissed.

"They asked," Will said, "They want to get to know you. They want you to come to GSA with us sometime."

"Really?"

Will rolled his eyes. "Yes, dummy! They like you."

"Oh," Nico said faintly, mollified.

"Now, come on, Mr. Punk Rock," Will laughed, pushing him inside.

When Nico was called, an older man came up and put an apron around him.

"What would you like me to do, kiddo?" he asked jovially.

"I'm...not sure..." Nico admitted.

"Hmm..." the man hummed, "Quite a growth there...When was the last time you had a trim, son?"

"I was maybe...twelve?"

The man gestured to posters on the wall sporting colorful pictures of young men with bright teeth and fancy haircuts.

"See one you like?"

"Um..."

One looked like an old accountant, one looked like it belonged to the boy who was voted most likely to become a corporate scumbag, and one he swore that bully Reginald had. So no great options.

Then he saw a small poster with a GI that said WE DO MILITARY CUTS!

He thought of the military school where they had buzzed his mess of hair. It had grown back by the time Percy and Annabeth and Thalia had found them.

The place itself didn't have any good memories for him. But Bianca had been there.

And Hazel. It reminded him of Hazel, back at Camp Jupiter where all the boys had cropped hair.

"Can you do that one?" he pointed to the cadet on the poster.

The man grinned. "You over eighteen?"

Nico snorted. "I don't want to join the army. I just like the look, that's all."

"Really?" Will asked.

Nico nodded. "Yeah, I'm sick of Terminus bitching about my hair whenever I visit Hazel, anyway."

"If you're sure..." the barber took scissors to his length of hair and chopping inches off until it was just under his ears. Then he buzzed the back till it was short and spiky. A sort of widow's peak of slightly thicker hair crowned his head.

He did look like he belonged in the service. That should make Terminus happy, he thought as he got down.

Will was staring at him.

"What?" Nico said defensively.

"Nothing..." he murmured, "You just...look really good."

Nico grinned.

"If I knew you had a thing for army boys, I'd have cut my hair sooner."

"Whatever, DiAngelo," Will laughed.

"I can't believe you didn't get the Mohawk!" Milo said.

"Dude, give it a rest with the Mohawk!" Erika exclaimed.

Nico didn't mind. His new haircut would remind him of all the good things in his life. His time with Bianca. Finding Hazel. And now, Will.

He smiled and took Will's hand. Now he would remember the people he loved when he looked in the mirror.

He never used to like mirrors. To see how desperate and pale and weak and thin he was.

But now it would show the best of him.

He had a feeling he wouldn't be avoiding mirrors anymore.

A/n: Again to quote Siddel, thank you for reading this chapter about haircuts.

Hope you enjoyed it and thank you for all the favs/follows/reviews!


	8. Chapter 8

"Aprhodite's tits, it's hot..." Will grumbled, sitting beside Nico on the Big house steps, handing him a soda.

"'Aphrodite's tits…?'" Nico repeated, nonplussed.

"Whatever. It's fucking hot," Will repeated, groaning and putting his own soda to his forehead.

They sat in companionable silence and watched the ball court.

Someone had put up the mobile basketball hoop on the grounds and some boys from the Apollo cabin were playing a pickup game with Percy and Jason.

"I don't know what his problem is," a girl's voice lamented in an amused tone.

Annabeth came out of the big house and sat next to Nico and Will, her hand on her chin.

"Percy always challenges the Apollo kids and he always loses. I don't know what he expects."

As she said this, one of Percy's shots hit the backboard and immediately an Apollo kid picked the ball up and threw a threepointer.

Annabeth sighed, chuckling.

See what I mean?"

"I think it's cool," Nioc admitted. "They're all really good. I wish _I_ were good at sports," he looked down at his thin frame.

"But I'm not exactly built for it." he sighed. "Oh well. I can't win capture the flag but I can at least annihilate anyone at Mythomagic. Even Frank fears my _Imperious Romanus_ deck."

"I'm quaking in my chiton," Annabeth said sarcastically with a playful smile.

Nico gave her a blank look. "You're not wearing a chiton."

"It's an expression," Annanbeth rolled her eyes.

"A dumb one," Nico laughed "Right, Will…? Will…?"

Will was staring at him intently.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

Will jolted suddenly to himself.

"Nothing! Nothing….dumb….yeah..."

He looked away quickly.

* * *

It was dead of night and the basketball hoop was still outside. Someone was throwing a basketball but his aim was off, especially in the dark.

"Shit," Will muttered, catching the ball. He threw again and it bounced back to him from the rim. He caught it.

"Shit!" he yelled throwing the ball behind him in frustration.

"Woah!" Someone yelped. Will turned around to see Percy, staggering from the force of the ball. He had caught it as it sailed over his head.

"Normally you aim for the basket," he smirked, throwing it back.

Will sighed. "I just can't do it," he said bitterly.

"Why do you care?" Percy asked, sitting down in the grass. "You never play with your brothers. Why are you suddenly interested?"

Will looked at him in silence and sat down heavily by Percy.

"It's what Nico said," he admitted in a hushed voice "Sports are cool, and I'm...not. I can't make a basket or a goal or a pitch or anything my brothers and sisters can do."

"Dude, are you kidding?" Percy asked incredulously, "You're like, the best healer in camp. You're like a junior version of Grey's Anatomy. You save lives. You even..."

Percy's voice choked. "You even saved Annabeth's life. When Nakamura stabbed her. She wouldn't be here without you. And I know Nico knows that's way more valuable than a few good freethrows."

Will smiled uncertainly.

"Will!"

Someone shouted. There were heavy footsteps and beams of flashlights hit their faces.

A few blond haired boys, brothers of Will's, were carrying Connor Stoll between them. Nico was in the back of the pack, trying to cover a gaping, bleeding wound on stoll's stomach.

"Idiot was taking a shortcut through the woods!" Elliot, one of the Apollo kids, said urgently

"Nico found him."

"Why was Nico outside?" Will demaneded as he and Percy helped bring him inside.

Percy ran to get Chiron while Will, Nico and the other Apollo boys took connor downstairs to the infirmary.

They placed him on the operating table as lights came on.

"He was looking for you," Elliot said. "Good thing too. He'd be dead otherwise."

"he may still be," Will said grimly. He took a flask of nectar and forced Connor to drink it. But the wound still bled.

"It's not healing fast enough…" Will muttered.

He thought for a moment and quickly ran to a chest. He scrounged around desperately until he came up with a roll of stitches, needles and antiseptic.

He worked feverishly, sewing and cutting, barely noticing Percy return with Chiron.

He did notice from the corner of his eye Nico's admiring look.

Finally it was done. The wound was sealed and his vitals were good. Will sighed and fell into a heap.

"Wonderful work," Chiron sighed in relief, clasping Will on the back.

"Will you gentleman help me transport him to his cabin while Will rests?" he asked the Apollo boys.

"I'll come too," Percy said.

They left Will and Nico alone. Will sat and caught his breath, not noticing Nico's absence until he came back with a soda which he pressed to Will's chest.

"You saved him," Nico said with warm pride.

Will smiled despite himself. "You saved him. You found him."

But Nico's proud,adoring look told him that Percy had been right; his work was more important than a batting average or how well he played a pickup game. And more imprtantly, Nico knew that.

The warmth that spead through him at this realizating made him want to share something he never told anyone before.

"Hey, Nico…" he said, taking a swig of cola. "Have I ever told you I want to go to medical school?"

a/n: I thought it was cool Will out of all his siblings got Apollo's gift of healing. Its especially apt because he helps "heal" Nico of his loneliness and distrust. Plus his name's a pun (as a healer he gives solace) so that's fun.

Thank you for reading and thank you for all teh favs/follows/reviews!


	9. Chapter 9

Eli, you can't use that card," Will told his younger brother as he put down a plate of milk and cookies for him at the kitchen table. Eli had just put down a Mythomagic monster card with a colorful illustration of a gorgon onto one of Nico's weapon cards.

Nico, sitting at the opposite end of the table, put his finger to his lips and smiled at Will, eyes full of mirth.

"You got me," he laughed, taking his card to the "grave" pile. It was the Sword of Perseus.

Nico was visiting for the afternoon and was trying to teach Eli how to play Mythomagic with the cards he gave him. Nico was using one of his standard Heroes of Greece boosterpack decks.

Will rolled his eyes. "You won't teach him how to play if you just _let_ him win," Will complained, setting milk and cookies down for Nico too.

Nico grabbed one and devoured it. "Yeah, yeah," he mumbled with a laugh through a mouth full of cookie.

He swallowed. "Okay, Eli, how's this?" Nico said, shuffling his deck. "You beat me this round and I'll give you any card you want. Deal?"

"You sure you wanna do that?" Will asked, sitting down in the empty chair to watch. "What if he asks for like, your really rare Romulus card or something?"

Nico blinked. "How'd you know that card's rare?"

Will rolled his eyes. "I do listen when you speak, DiAngelo."

Nico grinned. "Really? I thought you just recite Gray's Anatomy to yourself over and over instead of listening to people."

"Shut up!" Will laughed throwing a napkin at him.

Nioc laughed with him as he set down a card without looking. When his chuckling died down, he looked down at the table and paled.

He had put down a Hydra card. Eli had put down a Jason the Argonaut card.

Eli had put it down by chance, but Nico knew the story. Of the golden fleece and Medea's magic and Jason killing the many headed monster. Eli had won.

Nico stared wide eyed at the fluke. Then he laughed.

"Okay, kiddo, you win fair and square. What do you want?"

"I want that!" Eli declared at once.

He pointed a chocolate smudged finger at the small statue by Nico's deck. His hades figurine.

"Eli!" Will scolded him. "He said a card!"

"...no, its okay," Nico said slowly. He picked up the figure and handed it to the small boy.

"But someone very special gave it to me so I need you to take really good care of it. And I'm going to need it back. But when I get it back I'll give you any card you want to replace it, alright?"

"Okay!" Eli said brightly, his eyes shining as he inspected the toy.

"Eli, you're getting chocolate on it," Will exclaimed in exasperation, taking a napkin and wiping his baby brothers' fingers. To Nico he said "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Nico said. Because it was.

He thought of Hazel, sent to him to replace the sister he lost. Of Jason who was the first to tell him it was okay to be himself. He thought of Percy who treated him the same even after knowing he had harbored a crush on him even though many other boys would feel uncomfortable. And always, always, of Will.

H wasn't the friendless, angry, confused, little boy he used to be anymore. He had friends...a family.

As much as he loved and missed Bianca he didn't need the memory, her ghost as a crutch to keep him going, to sustain him anymore.

Because, like the heroes on his cards he dreamed about becoming as a child, For the first time in his life, he felt truly strong.

A/n: It was so great to see Nico's character go full circle in BOO and to see him gain that inner strength and confidence from the people who love him.

By the way, by Grey's Anatomy I mean the anatomy textbook, not the show, lol. Thank you for reading and thank you for all the favs/follows/reviews!


	10. Chapter 10

When Nico walked into his cabin, Will was already sitting on his bed intently looking at an official looking paper. That wasn't unusual. It was the summer before Will's senior year and he was getting letters and brochures from colleges all the time.

But this was different. He looked almost...sad.

"What's wrong, _caro_?" Nico asked.

Will tore himself away from the paper.

"...I've been accepted into Berkeley's premed program."

"Will, that's amazing!" Nico exclaimed, clutching Will's arm excitedly. Will didn't return his smile. Nico frowned.

"So why do you look like someone died?"

"I can't...I can't go," Will said. Almost choking on his words.

"Of course you can! You got accepted didn't you? You'll be great there."

"I can't," Will almost shouted "\He looked away glancing forlornly at the paper. "We can't afford it. I could get a job but Mom did the math. I can't do it without parent help even if I get scholarships so...med school is out."

"That's no fair… you'd be an amazing doctor."

"That's life," Will said "My mom's juts an associate professor at a small school and my stepdad is a mechanic. They can't send their son to med school.

Nico looked at him thoughtfully. " _They_ can't..."

"What?"

"Nothing….nothing..."

The next day, Will got a call at the Big House.

"Hello, Mr. Will Solace?" A peppy girl's voice asked.

"Yes?"

"Hi, this is Kate from Berkeley financial aid office. How are you today?"

"Good...what is this about?"

"I'm just calling to tell you we received your down payment for fall term after next."

Will almost choked. "I don't understand….I didn't send you any money...I can't go..."

"Oh, yes," she said brightly, "A representative came in person to give it. H said if you asked, to tell you it was a thank you for taking care of his son...do you know a Mr. Dis?"

Will stared stunned then laughed.

"Yes….yes, I do...I understand what happened now. Thank you."

Will hung up. He couldn't stop grinning.

Nico was waiting for him in the lounge. Wordlessly, Will ran up to him and hugged him.

"I guess this means Dad's been in contact." Nico laughed.

"You didn't have to do this..."

"Nonsense. I just told him about your college situation and he was happy to help. He wanted to thank you for being so good to me. The god of death and wealth is stingy but he knows when he owes a debt and he always, always pays it."

Nico looked in to Will's eyes and smiled.

"You're going to medical school."

a/n: Dis is another name for Hades/Pluto btw :) Hope you liked it and thank you for all the reviews/favs/folloows!


	11. Chapter 11

"Here you are, hon," the old woman at the Forster high welcome desk smiled at Nico, handing him a name tag.

He wrote his name sloppily in blue ink and stuck it to his skull t-shirt.

The hallway was empty. Class must not have been out for lunch yet.

He waited by the water fountain until Will got out of class. He came out of a nearby classroom, shouldering a backpack and smiling at him.

"There you are!"

he came up to Nico and took his hand. "C'mon, GSA is about to start!"

"Okay but you still haven't told me why you want me there today..."

"You'll see!" Will said eagerly, pulling Nico along.

He lead Nico to the auditorium where the ten members of GSA had placed metal folding chairs on the stage. They had put an extra one out for Nico.

There were several boxes of pizza everyone was helping themselves to.

"Guys!" Milo called from center stage, waving enthusiastically, a piece of pizza hanging from his mouth.

"That's gross, Mi!" Erika protested.

Milo quickly caught the dangling food and swallowed. "Hey," he said, mid gulp, "It's time for my speech!"

"There's a speech?"Nico whispered to Will.

"Just wait."

Milo seeped up and cleared his throat.

"Ahem. As you guys know, this is me, Will, Case and Erika's senior year."

There was applause.

"And so I am proud to say that the votes are in and replacing me as president is...Alex!"

He gestured to a slight boy with mused black hair. He stood up and shook hands with Milo as everyone applauded again.

"And there's more." Milo said happily. "As some of you know I have applied to Rye Catcher Teen Center. I am happy to announce I got the job!"

Everyone shouted their congratulations. "And here's the real news. I've spoken with the managers and they've agreed to let me start GSA services there."

There was excited murmuring "Once a week I will be hosting GSA meetings there. Anyone is welcome, so for our graduates, we can still meet every week there!"

Everyone cheered. "Which brings me to our guest."

Milo gestured for Nico to come up. Will pushed him,whispering "Go! Go!"

"This is Nico, Will's boyfriend," Milo said. "This is his firsts meeting with us, but hopefully not the last." he smiled at Nico.

"I've told mrs. Dean at Rye Catcher about you and well...she thinks she wants you to work there too."

Nico looked up at him, stunned. "Um...he said lamely, "People aren't...exactly my thing."

"Oh, I'm sure that's not true," Milo smiled kindly. "Will tells me you work as a camp counselor at a day camp in the summer? You work with kids a lot, don't you?"

"Um..." His arguments died in his throat. He did work with kids, people, other humans. When did that happen? "Um… wow...thank you..."

Milo nodded. The bell rang and the meeting adjourned.

Will stayed behind with Nico.

"You alright?"

"Yeah...yeah..."Nico managed. "I just...wasn't expecting that..."

"It'd be great, right?" Will said excitedly. "I wanted us all to stay together after I leave for college. I thought this was the best way to do it. Will you see about the job?"

Nico smiled and kissed him. "Yeah, yeah, I will. But you know..." he said burying his face in Will's chest "Nothing will change when you go to college. I will be shadow traveling to Berkeley every spare minute I got. I hope your roommate is okay with a short kind of emo kid in his room all the time."

"You won't," Will said sternly. "You could die."

Nico kissed him again. "Try and stop me."

Will laughed. "Okay, ghost boy. Try not to materialize in my room while my roommate's there. Sock on the door I can explain, randomly materializing boyfriend, not so much."

Will patted Nico's arm and shoved a card into his hands. It read

RYE CATCHER TEEN AND FAMILY SEVICES

543-390-5321

"Call that number. I think you'll get yourself a job."

He hurried out of the auditorium to his next class leaving Nioc to stare at the card.

He thought of how lost and alone he had been when he was younger, how sure he was he had no one in the world. He could have used a place like this then. If he took the job he could help kids who needed it now.

He couldn't wait to find a phone.

A/n: Next chapter, Nico's new job! Thank you for reading and thank you guys for all the favs/follows/reviews!


	12. Chapter 12

Nico looked down at the paper in his hand.

5432 PARKWAY DRIVE

Yeah, this was the place. He looked up and saw the old dilapidated sign that read RYE CATCHER TEEN AND FAMILY SERVICES

In small letters it continued: "Helping teens and families since 1968"

The place was transparently as old and well loved as the sign suggested.

He nervously opened the double glass doors.

A woman at the front desk looked up from paperwork and smiled.

"Hello, dear. How can I help you?"

"Hi," Nico's face flushed. "My name is Nico DiAngelo..."

"Oh, yes!" the woman adjusted a pair of glasses with a thin golden chain and got up to shake his hand.

"I'm Alicia Dean. So good to meet you!"

"You too, ma'am."

"Milo's told me so much about you...why don't we pop into my office and we can have a chat?"

She took him into a small room covered in loose paper. An old computer hummed on a desk and there were overstuffed filing cabinets in the corner. It reminded him peasantry of Chiron's office.

"So..."she gestured for nioc to sit down. "Tell em about yourself, Nico."

"Well...I'm seventeen...I work for a...er...camp. As a counselor."

"That's what Milo told me," she said brightly "What kind of camp?"

"Er…one for ...well...gifted kids, I guess you'd say."

"Really?"

"Yeah...I sort of take care of the younger kids, get them to meals, lead activities, help with campfire….that sort of thing."

"Wonderful!" Mrs. Dean said. Writing down something on a pad of paper on her knee. "And have you worked at a front desk? Receptionist? Clerk?"

Nico thought of all the times he managed hearings in his father's palace when Hades was away, listening to spirits argue their cases for better circumstances in the underworld.

"Yes, actually," he said, "My father runs a….business...I help him man the place sometimes."

"Well, you definitely seem like someone we need on board," Mrs. Dean said happily, getting up to shake Nico's hand again and leading him outside.

"We'll have to take a peek at your resume and do a background check and another, more formal interview, but I think you got the job, Mr. Di Angelo."

Nico looked around the center, contemplating his hopefully new workplace. It definitely needed a fixup if any balding did. The window was smudged, the plastic chairs were cracked, the desk was a hundred years old and there wasn't any technology from after 1989.

But he didn't see any of that. He just saw a place where he could help kids who were just like he was. He felt like Peter Pan with his lost boys. He felt like a catcher in the rye.

And he smiled.

A/n: I think it's great Nico went back to camp to be a councelor because that give shim the chance to help kids who are lost the way he was. I wanted to expand on that idea. Obviously credit to Salinger's Cathcer in the Rye.

Thank you for reading and thank you for the favs/follows/reviews!


	13. Chapter 13

"Are you sure it looks okay?"

Will smoothed out his black gown for the millionth time.

He tugged at the brim of his graduation cap, giving it a skewed rebellious look Nico couldn't help but find attractive.

"You look fine, _Caro_ ," he assured Will tucking a fold on his collar for him.

"I better," Will groused "Mom will take an estimated three billion pictures and if I have spinach on my teeth in them..."

"You hate spinach," Nico pointed out.

Will sighed. "Not the point, man!"

"Fine, fine," Nico chuckled. Will scowled and fussed with his collar.

Nico stopped his hand.

"You know I'm really proud of you, _Caro,_ " he said affectionately.

Will smile tenderly. "It's you I'm proud of" he said "You're so far from that scared little boy I hardly recognize you half the time."

Nico smiled "It's thanks to you I'm not that scared little boy anymore."

Will shook his head. "No...It's like you told Hazel...you can be given a second chance but you have to take it. You took it, Nico. You beat the odds."

Nico smiled. He leaned in to kiss Will when the door opened. They both leaped away.

Eli was beaming radiantly at them from the door.

"Momma wants you to come to the car!" he said proudly with a toothy smile.

"Oh...okay, Eli..." Will breathed, a hand over his heart

When Eli left, his message, complete, Will looked grimly at Nico "Well, here it is. Moment of truth."

Nico grinned and leaned back in and kissed him gently.

"You're going to be fine, _Caro_." Nico said with finality.

At last, Will smiled. "You're right. This is just the winter of our discontent, is all."

Nioc looked at him strangely. "Will...it's summer."

Will rolled his eyes. "You really have to start reading things beside _The Amazing Spiderman_."

"Whatever. That's your job. You're the graduate, graduate." Nico laughed, poking Will as they got up to go to the car.

Later that day, after most of the alphabet, Will was finally called across the stage. Nico thought he looked taller, older even as he took his degree and shook his principal's hand.

He thought of Will in a year, going off to premed. In Five, going to Med school. In eight, an intern and then resident and then a full fledged doctor. Thought of himself being by his side for all of it.

Looking up at Will's smiling face as he walked down the stage, Nico couldn't help thinking odds could be beaten after all.

A/n: Sorry for being MIA for so long! Recently, I graduated from college, moved, and began graduate school. I've been very busy getting settled into my new place and school.

But I'm back and I want to thank you guys for still reading my work! You guys are great...thank you for your patience and as always thank you for reading!


End file.
